Greetings from sunny Seattle! That is to say, it’s sunny as I type this. What it will be doing when you read it is anyone’s guess. Seattle is unpredictable exciting like that. Rather like the Mushroom Pizza Bites you’ll find a bit further down the screen.

Unlike Seattle, you may have noticed that I am fairly predictable in the kitchen and tend to work in themes. One week I’m all about blueberries, the next I’ve gone gaga on turkey, then I’m crazy over cranberries, and suddenly along comes a large splash of lemon. I am not entirely sure why this is so, but it seems reasonable to suggest that I buy too much of whatever ingredient it is for the first idea, and then have to think up other ideas to use up the rest. I hate to see good food go to waste. Another possible explanation is that once I get an idea about flavor combinations, or a theme, or some new technique for using something, my brain darts off in a myriad different directions about all the possibilities that offers up. I am all for making the most of everything. Strike while the iron’s hot!! As they say.

A week or so ago I went on a bit of a stuffed mushroom fest. It wasn’t intentional when I started out, but after I had so much fun with the Mushroom Tuna Melt, every time I saw a mushroom I wanted to stuff it with something. Those Portobellos with Tuna Salad were really good, and I didn’t even miss the whole bread part of a traditional Tuna Melt.

So at the grocery store a few days ago I was staring at some mushrooms – wondering, as you do, what I could stuff them with – and before I knew it, my brain was being sabotaged by the word ‘P I Z Z A’. Who knows. Anyway, I thought it would be fun to make individual pizzas out of Portobellos; then I thought how much more fun it would be if they were bite-sized pieces of pizza.

Like this. I give you Mushroom Pizza Bites.

Aren’t they fun?

I love eating food with my fingers – not very British of me, I know – but the messier I can get when eating, the better it is as far as I am concerned. These totally fit the messy-to-eat bill. More to the point, they’re scrumptious.
Being single – with kitties that are not the least bit interested in eating mushrooms – I made this like a personal pan pizza and scarfed down the whole thing. You could also serve it as a side – two mushrooms each for 4 people, or 4 pieces each for a couple of you.

I used Trader Joe’s Sweet Italian Style Chicken Sausages, but by jove you can use any pre-cooked sausage you darn well choose. I say pre-cooked because you really only heat the meat through under the broiler (grill), so pre-cooked sausages makes these super-easy, and ensure that the meat is cooked properly. Look for sausages that have no added sugar, no starchy fillers, no artificial ingredients, and are high in protein. Like sausages should be.

These are super-fun, super-fast, and super-flavorful – everything that your mouth and brain need to forget there’s no pizza dough involved. All of the upside, none of the downsides. We love that!

You can adapt these by topping your pizza bites with whatever you fancy – as long as it’s KETO of course.

Suzie price-Made these this weekend – and as I was eating, I thought, “this is brilliant!” That’s because it is so easy, so tasty, so quick and very SANE. The perfect answer to pizza. Brilliant ideas and recipes from brilliant carrie!ReplyCancel

Keri -Can I use xanthan gum instead of guar gum? I don’t have guar gum…ReplyCancel

carrie-Hi Keri – in this instance yes you can sub out xanthan for guar. Enjoy!ReplyCancel

MVP -I made these tonight with Baby Portabellos instead of white mushrooms because I couldn’t find any large enough, and it was AMAZING!! Even my almost 2 year old went nuts on them. She ate two all by herself!ReplyCancel

Megan -Any thoughts on possible alternatives to the mushroom part of this awesome recipe? I have a house full of mushroom-dislikers (unless they’re chopped up into tiny bits). But I am always on the lookout for a tasty pizza replacement!ReplyCancel

Mary -I’m going to try and make these, but I need some help with an ingredient I never heard of–guar gum. I’m assuming it’s a spice since I need only 1/4 t. Can I find it at a Kroger, which is comparable to your QVC. Oh yes, and a great big hi and I do miss the lovely Pacific Northwest and even the more lovely people out there!.ReplyCancel

carrie-Hi Mary! Guar gum is a powder made from a bean. I use Bob’s Red Mill brand and you can find it in most grocery stores with the other Bob’s Red Mill products. Most stores carry it these days. Hope that helps! I miss you, too!!ReplyCancel

Jill -This was really good, though I didn’t use the guar gum since I didn’t have any. I also made some with pesto/chicken/Parmesan since I had that on hand. Thank you; my family and I really liked it, even my 80 year-old mother!ReplyCancel

Jodi -I haven’t tried these yet but they look AMAZING! I am just discovering this whole new way of eating. I have the book and I am blown away at this entire system. I can’t wait to get started! Going shopping this weekend and My mother is doing this with me. We are going to shop together and cook together. I’m printing all the recipes and putting them in a binder, by category so we can stay organized and do our meal planning. Thank you to you and to Jonathan for sharing this wonderful system!ReplyCancel